Author Note: Soo...couldn't update as quick as I planned. Real busy cleaning to earn money for Louisianime...anyone going? And then I have summer reading projects to read before school starts..oh, joy! Oh, and then school started and i had NO TIME and NO COMPUTER, great, huh? A real joy, just the best thing ever for someone like me.
Oh, and thankfully, this will be the last explanations chapter...after this the plot will start to pick up...So, no more sort of boring chapters.. yay!
And a heads up, I'm not perfectly accurate with every little detail, or at least I doubt I am. Not saying I got everything (or anything if I'm lucky) wrong, but I also could be off on a few things. If you see a mistake, please let me know...and don't forget to review. XD
Dumbledore arrived later to his office than expected, by which time everyone was there waiting for him. He smiled sheepishly as he walked passed his guest and took a seat at his desk. "Sorry I was late, I had some last minuet errands that slipped my mind earlier. I couldn't wait, but I got here as soon as I could," the old Headmaster said, being twenty minuets late.
"It's alright, Professor." Harry said, being one of five guest in his now crowded office, not including Professor McGonagall, who decided to stay after she escorted the two Elrics back to Dumbledore's office for the second time.
"The wait wasn't that bad, really..." Hermione said, though not mentioning how awkward it was. The whole time, no one spoke, save for minor introductions and a few whispered words between Ed and Al, none of which anyone else caught. Then there was the supposed younger brother in the ginormous suit of armor staring at you from the corner of the room, the only place he could fit comfortably.
Ron muttered something incoherent under his breath, which his friends could only guess contradicted what Hermione said. The Elrics remained silent.
"Right, I'm glad then." Dumbledore said, though he could guess that it wasn't the best twenty minuets of their lives. "Now, why don't we begin, I don't want to keep you here for too long."
"That's all fine and dandy...but I don't understand why they are here." Ed said, glaring at the newcomers. Al whispered, 'brother...' to Ed in a disapproving tone, though the elder brother ignored it. He didn't need anyone else knowing his business.
"Neither do I, Professor." Harry said, though a lot more polite than Ed, though he wasn't that opposed to it, figuring he could find out a bit more about the Elrics should he say. He wasn't thrilled about being shooed away from the hospital wing after the nurse came out to examine Ed, something about the less people crowding her the better.
"Well, then, let me explain." Dumbledore said, and then proceded to rest his head on his hands. "Do you remember what I told you earlier, about a request?" He asked, testing the boys memory.
Ed scoffed, "As if I could forget." He looked from Dumbledore, to the teens with Harry, and then back to the old man. "Though I don't see what you would want that could involve them...I'm not a babysitter."
"A babysitter?" Hermione asked, slightly offended. "You're practically our age."
"And what is your age, exactly?" Ed asked, with uninterested curiosity. His gazed lazily at Hermione, his head resting on his right hand.
"I'm fifteen, so are Harry and Ron." Hermione answered, still angered, ignoring Ed's attitude completely.
Ed grinned, "I'll be sixteen in winter." The others - Harry, Ron and Hermione - were shocked.
"No way, you're so-" Ron began, but was silenced by Ed's intense glare. Ron shrank back and scooted further from the enraged boy and closer to his friends.
"Don't. Even. Say. The. Word. Short." Ed said slowly through tightly clenched teeth. Al sighed. "What? You want some of-" Ed was silenced by Al's chuckling and then settled with crossing his arms and glaring at the red head beside him.
"Alright." McGonagall said. "Let's calm down and allow Albus to continue, shall we?"
"Thank you, Minerva." Dumbledore said, grateful. "Now, I don't want you to 'babysit', so no worries about that,"' He began, instantly relieving a lot of built up tension in the room. "However, I would like you to teach them what you know about alchemy, if you could," He finished and then waited for a response. Ron and Hermione, already knowing a bit about Ed's version of alchemy from what Harry had explained earlier, didn't even bother asking for an explanation, they remained silent and waited expectantly for an answer.
Ed wasn't expecting this, so it took him a while to gather his thoughts. "Do you realize how long that would take?" He said, finally. "I've studied it for most of my life to get to where I am today, and I still have room for improvement. I'm not even sure if it's the same here, for all I know the elements could be off, or even completely different. I could kill myself!" Ed vented, though he was slightly over exaggerating it. Al believed otherwise. Harry and the others wondered about where the two brothers really did come from, if not here, though didn't get the chance to ask any questions on the matter.
"I don't think so, Brother." Al reasoned. "And even if it is, I don't think you'd mess it up that bad." He teased, only ticking Ed off further.
"Oh, really?" Ed asked sarcastically. "Fine, let's find out, this is stone, right?" Ed asked, pointing to the floor. Dumbledore nodded, amused at the boys antics. Ed, not sparing another second, clapped his hands together and placed them on the floor, though with a bit of excessive force on his part, due to his fit of anger. Harry and his gang watched as blue electricity shot out from the ground, backing away as much as they could. Ed raised his right hand and with the motion, a bladed spear was transmuted. As it rose higher, he caught it, giving it a slight twirl to test it's weight. Grinning in triumph, he said, "Guess I was wrong, at least about the stone."
Hermione and Ron were speechless, forgetting their earlier thoughts on where Ed and Al really came from; McGonagall in complete shock. The only two that seemed to be taking this all in smoothly was Harry and Dumbledore, who had witnessed his alchemy before. Ed, not as evil as he appeared to be, noticed the looks on the others faces and transmuted the staff back into stone and then sat back down on the plush chair he was on before. Sighing, he said, "Even still, I don't know if it's such a good idea. Alchemy isn't something you learn in a day. It takes weeks of complete dedication to learn how to transmute a simple doll, months to years to learn anything like I just did."
Dumbledore's expression did not change, "I understand. Though, would you consider it if I promised my student's would surprise you, and if I allowed you and your brother unrestricted use of our Library?"
"A library?" Al asked, "What kinds of books do you have?" He was getting excited, and though Ed was better at hiding it, he was too. They both knew that they would have to learn more about this world if they had any hopes in getting home.
"I have a vast collection, and many that you should find useful. There are even a few written by Nicholas, that should at least interest you. Also, should you take the offer, I promise that at the end of term, whether or not teaching these students alchemy is successful, I shall lend you a hand in finding a way to get you home. All you have to do is make a good effort, "Dumbledore said, really gaining the Elric's attention when he mentioned trying to get them home.
"What do you think, Al? You up for it?" Ed asked, feeling a bit more optimistic, still not allowing anyone to bring of the question of his or his brothers origin, and liking it that way.
"It's worth a shot!" Al replied.
"Alright then, old man. We have a deal, though I'm not promising to go easy on them one bit," Ed said, slightly day dreaming and laughing manically on the inside. "They want to learn, that's fine. But, we do it my way."
"That's perfectly understandable," Dumbledore agreed. "Are you three alright with this?"
"Sure, Professor, but I don't really understand why you want us to learn this anyway," Harry replied, a little scared of what was in store for him and his friends.
"I just think it will benefit you, that's all." Dumbledore said, "It's dangerous times we live in. Anything that your opponent doesn't expect will come to you as an advantage, especially if you are disarmed." The teens thought of this, and found that Dumbledore had a good point.
"Wait..." Ed began, wanting to clarify something. "They won't be able to do alchemy like me and Al, I just want to make sure that's understood before we close this deal."
"I don't think I quite understand what you mean, what other way is there?" Dumbledore asked, now curious.
"Our way of alchemy, the way we clap our hands...there is a lot more to it than it looks...more than we'd like to discuss. There are also few that can preform it the same way, most use chalk." Ed explained.
"Chalk?" Ron asked, finally finding his voice, though asking in a tone that showed disbelief. Hermione and Harry mirrored his expression, McGonagall was still silent.
"Yea, though you can use just about anything that writes...though chalk generally shows up on most surfaces..." Ed began, trailing off, before seeing everyone confused looks. He continued, "Typically, to make a reaction, you have to draw an array, one with different symbols that represent each of the elements, this would cause your material to be transmuted into another form, though it must be of equal value and of the same basic elements. It's complicated."
Confusion still hung thick in the air. "Obviously," Harry remarked.
"Though, I don't understand. You said there has to be an array, why don't you have to?" Hermione asked. Ed looked a little uncomfortable.
Al spoke next, explaining it as simple as he could, "We can channel the flow of our own energy into an array, without actually drawing one out on paper, it's kind of natural for us-"
"And we will just leave it at that," Ed said, not wanting to go deeper into the subject. Thankfully, before the curious teens could ask anymore questions, Dumbledore re-centered the attention onto himself.
"Very well. How about instead we decide on what to tell the rest of the students and faculty here, shall we?" He asked, both brothers agreed. "It's obvious that you will be spending a lot of time around Harry and his friends, so I can't just let you loose without an explanation."
"What do you have in mind, Albus?" McGonagall asked, though it seemed she already had an idea. One of those spur of the moment ones she enjoyed, even with her old age.
"It seems you will tell me." Dumbledore answered simply, already seeing the light in her eyes. McGonagall smiled.
"I had the idea - since alchemy reminds me a bit of transfiguration - that maybe you could be my interns. You could watch a few of my classes, maybe even learn a thing are two," She finished the thought with a light smirk, "And then help out Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the mean time." McGonagall said.
"Intern?" Ed asked, not sure how he felt about it, though before McGonagall could question his tone he finished, "I guess it will do, you alright with it, Al?"
"Yes, sounds kind of...fun." Al agreed, though the topic of internship was quickly and unexpectedly changed.
"Alright... I can't take it anymore, why are you in that armor? Is it really necessary?" Hermione blurted out, unable to contain her curiosity any longer. "I mean, it's kind of...outdated, don't you think?"
Ed and Al cringed back, Ed not liking the idea of explaining why Al was the way he was to yet another person and getting consumed by the fresh new wave of guilt that came with it, each one hitting him harder than the last. "That's kind of...personal." Ed said, his voice low and hardly audible, already sinking into his thoughts though the story hadn't even been touched.
"O-Oh," Hermione stuttered, wishing she never asked in the first place, originally assuming it was because of some kind of extreme case of paranoia or an O.C.D. hobby gone a little to far, having no idea how wrong she could be. Still confused, she muttered, "Sorry."
"It's okay." Al said, though he still felt a bit uncomfortable.
"How about we move on then." Dumbledore suggested, lifting a lot of pressure off both Ed and Al's shoulders.
"Please." Ed asked with a little more urgency than necessary, his voice strained.
"Very well, why don't you five head off to bed and we can can work out the rest of the kinks in the morning, all should go well enough so that we don't have to put to much thought into it," Dumbledore insisted, and dismissed everyone from his office. "Oh, and Ed..." Dumbledore began, stopping the teen and his brother in his tracks. "...I do ask that you go with Minerva tomorrow to hopefully find a few necessities that both you and your brother will need to manage it here. Unfortunately, I don't think it would be wise to plan a visit to our main shopping district, Diagon Ally, until the weekend, so you will have to be creative until then."
"Uh...okay." Ed said, a little confused, but not surprised.
"Goodnight, Professor." Al said, and then made his way down the stairs, his heavy footsteps echoing loudly against the stone walls, ringing in his brother's ears. Another reminder, another wave of guilt.
"Um, goodnight." Ed muttered and then went to follow after his brother and catch up with McGonagall so she could help them find their room again. She was right, the stairs did like to change, making navigation confusing.
"Goodnight," Dumbledore said, though he doubted either of the boys heard it, as they were already making their way quickly down the stairs. He sighed, content with how things turned out, though still tired from the long day. He closed his eyes and let his mind wander, planning his schedule for tomorrow, hoping that it would go as smoothly as he promised, only slightly worried about the few obstacles that could possibly get in their way and...complicate things. He let himself drift off into a light sleep.
Harry, Ron and Hermione couldn't keep quiet on the way back to their dorm. Earlier conversations still rang in their ears, echoing through their minds. "So," Harry began, "Alchemy. Wow."
"Yeah," Ron agreed. "I didn't see that coming. Do you even really know what that is? I've never heard of it 'till today," Ron asked. When Harry shrugged he asked, "Hermione?"
She thought for a moment. "I've came across a few books, but nothing I've read is anything like what Edward did. I only found references to chemist trying to turn lead and other base metals into gold. Nothing really interesting, or helpful," she answered. "Sorry."
The three rounded a corner, checked for eaves droppers, and then continued their conversation. "Do you really think it will be helpful, though? I mean, against Voldemort or Death Eaters?" Harry asked, his mind centering on that thought while he listened absentmindedly to their groups echoing steps against the stone floor.
"I don't know, mate." Ron answered. "I mean, I don't know about you, but I don't think I'd be any good swinging around a pointy looking, staff thing, you?" Harry laughed a little, though Hermione didn't find it all that funny.
"I'm sure we will be able to do more than that, don't you Harry?" Hermione asked. "Didn't you say something about him changing, or 'transmuting'," she began, making air quotes around that last word before she began again, "his arm into a sword at dinner?"
Harry nodded, "Yeah, though I hope not all he can teach us deals with hand to hand combat, otherwise I don't think we have much of a chance." Hermione and Ron agreed, not seeing themselves as much of the combatant type. Not unless having quick and accurate wrist movements count.
"I guess we'll find out, until then...Ron, you need to finish your potions essay. I'm not writing it for you again!" Hermione stated, retiring the conversation back into one they usually shared.
"Oh, come on, Hermione," Ron pleaded. "You know Snape hates, me...I'll fail at this rate.." He finished. When she didn't budge, he added, "Could you at least look over it for me?" Harry sighed, his friends were far too predictable. He wondered how long this mindless innocence would last.
Ed was now lying in his bed, and even though he was both physically and mentally exhausted from the events that happened in the last few days, he couldn't sleep. "Hey, Al?" He whispered, giving up his attempts to sink even into the lightest form of sleep.
"Yeah?" Al asked, lying on his own bed, though both brothers knew it was imposable for him to get any rest the way he was.
"Do you think we did the right thing, accepting the old man's offer?" Ed asked, replaying today's event's in his head. In so little time, faster than Ed thought possible, both his and his brother's life had completely changed. Hopefully, this decision would set everything right. Al waited a while before answering.
"Yeah, I do." Al replied, totally confident, unlike his brother. For another moment, all was silent. "I feel that doing this will get us home, somehow. I trust Dumbledore to go through with what he said, and even if he can't help us...we'll figure something out. We always do."
Ed smiled, unable to fight the grin that was now playing at his lips. "Yea, I guess you're right. We just have to make sure we don't screw it up." Al chucked, and Ed knew what he was about to say.
"I hope you're mostly referring to yourself, Brother." Al replied, though Ed knew he was only joking. Ed waved him off, though the gesture was lost in the darkness.
"Yeah, yeah." Ed said, before turning back over, his mind now at rest enough to allow him to relax. "Night, Al."
"Goodnight, Brother." Al replied.
The early rays of the morning sun came far to early for Edward's liking, nor for Al, who was usually the one in charge of waking him up. "Come on Brother, wake up!" Al tried, but got no noticeable response from his brother. Al ripped the covers from him and laid them at his feet, hoping the sudden gust of what he thought would be cold air would startle him enough to get him on his feel.
"Al, what the hell?" Ed muttered and then went to grab the covers at his feet before laying back down and rolling over, gripping tightly to the covers for warmth. "Wake me up later."
"I can't, Professor McGonagall is waiting on us, we need to get ready," Al said, hoping that would change things around. It didn't.
"No, I'm tired." Ed replied, not able to get much sleep last night. Al then had no choice, his mood turned murderous and his eyes were glossed over with a reddish hue.
"Get up, Brother." Al said, his tone a little too sweet for Ed's liking. He rolled over and gazed up at his brother. Cringing back in panic, all traces of the grogginess that once clouded his tired mind were gone. Al was glaring at him, glaring, his arm's were folded and his expression was one that could scare whole army's into retreating. Ed jumped out of bed, landing roughly on his feet, almost toppling over.
"Al, you're right." Ed said quickly. "I should get up..." As Ed rushed to get ready, Al chuckled in the background.
A few minutes later, there was another knock on the door. Ed went to open it, slipping on his vibrant red coat in the process. "Finally, you're up, let's get going, I don't have much time before my next class." McGonagall said from the other side of the door, motioning for the boys to follow her. Ed grumbled as he left his room.
"Finally? It's what, six in the morning?" Ed questioned, hoping she didn't expect him to get up this early every morning.
"Around seven thirty, actually." The professor corrected, leading the boy's up a few sets of stairs. The few student's they passed surprised the Elrics. Naturally, they expected a few to stare at Al, but most just glanced at the newcomers, acknowledging they were just that, and then went on about their business. Was this world really that different from Amestris?
"Hey, McGonagall-" Edward began.
"Professor." She corrected, before allowing Edward to go on.
"Alright, Professor McGonagall, what country are we in, exactly?" Ed asked, curious now to see if maybe instead of being in a new world entirely, they were just in another part.
"England, why?" The Professor replied, now curious herself. Ed just shrugged.
"Curious, that's all." He muttered sometime later. Al seemed to have the same thought as he, they weren't on the same planet, not unless they had just somehow not ever heard of England, though that was unlikely. Being in the military, Ed made it a priority to at least read over most of the countries, skipping the ones he already knew. And unless his memory was failing him again, England didn't exist, at least in his home world. "What year?" He asked, while they were on a staircase, waiting on it to stop moving so they could get off.
McGonagall stuttered for a moment, but decided to say nothing of the matter. If was now perfectly clear to her, something that she was denying out of sheer stubbornness last night, that these boys were not from here...or if they were, they were different that everyone else around her.
"1995" McGonagall replied, just as they arrived to her classroom. Shocked, Ed managed to trip himself. Fortunately, Al caught him before he hit the floor. "Are you alright, Mr. Elric?" She asked, seeing the confusion in his eyes.
"Y-yeah. It's just...I was born in 1899." Ed replied, his mind was racing. Not only was he in another world, but another time!
"Brother, you think?" Al asked, thinking the same thing Ed was.
"Yeah." Ed replied, looking over to see McGonagall's shocked face.
"That's impossible, you're only fifteen, and your brother fourteen." McGonagall insisted, just about tired of getting stuff like this dropped on her. She did the math, and there was no way Ed or Al was ninety-five or older.
Ed thought about it for a moment at a desk the professor motioned for him to sit at. Ed thought there were three different possibilities here, two being more likely. He thought either Truth sent he and his brother ahead in time to another part of his world where magic existed...or he was in another world entirely, and their time was just a little off. Just because it was a few years ahead, doesn't mean he actually went ahead in time. It all depends on when they started their calender. But, compared to everything else, this really wasn't that important. Nevertheless, he explained his theory to Al and the professor.
"You may have a point, one that I'd rather no think about at this time, if you don't mind." McGonagall said, grabbing a few large books from a bookshelf in the back of the room before heading off to another corner.
"We understand." Al said, kind of thinking the same thing. So much has happened in the last few days, so much to think about. Everyone just needed some time to relax.
"I think, at least for now, our best bet is to just go with the flow of things here, work on what we can while we can, and not think about all the little details too much." Ed finished, Al seemed to agree.
"Well said, Mr. Elric." McGonagall remarked, thankful that the boy wasn't making things more complicated than they needed to be. "Now, I would like you to read these, or at least skim through them thoroughly," she added, though to Ed whether it was skimming or not, it was still reading, something he was more than use to. She handed Ed and Al a few books. Ed looked at the titles, noticing they were all about magic. Seeing his expression, she told him, "I think these will be helpful to you, get you started so you aren't completely lost. I don't think either of you are the type of people to be looked down upon as fools."
"You're right," Ed replied, still gazing at the books, before looking back at McGonagall. "I'll have these back to you tomorrow."
The old professor grinned, glad that the boys were at least enthusiastic about learning, more than she could say about a good bit of students she knew she shouldn't name. "Alright," she said, though she doubted the boys could get through all those book in a day. "Now, breakfast has just about ended for the students, so you should be able to go now without to much of a problem, eat in peace. I have class in about ten minuets, so I will come and find you too later. Dumbledore has confirmed to me that you are allowed to move about the castle freely, but it's best to stay indoors. Though, please try and be back to your dorm by four, so that you have a little time to get ready for dinner, where you will be introduced," she finished, though neither Ed nor Al were to happy about the dinner part.
"...Alright, four, got it." Ed confirmed, and then started out the door with the books he acquired, Al in step behind him.
"One more thing, if you please," Mcgonagall began, gaining the boys attention. "Say out of trouble," she finished, a mixture between seriousness and humor showing in her facial features. Ed smirked.
Author Ending Note: Wow, so i know this is a horrible place to stop, but I needed to post SOMETHING! I am sooo sorry for the horrifically uber long wait time for this chapter, but I've been super busy and I just got my computer back today, so I'm back :) Hopefully, I will be able to update more often, right now though, I'm going to sleep, so if it's full of mistakes, Im sorry. I read over it, but I need to go over it again tomorrow.
Review! Even if it isn't all good, I need to know what ya'll think :)
I'll even give you a cookie XD